Reign of the Hero of Bowerstone
The Reign of the Hero of Bowerstone lasted nearly fifty years, from the time the Hero was 28 until his death at age 73, during which Albion transitioned from a poorly organized group of city-states into a unified nation. Background The Hero of Bowerstone was officially coronated as the King of Albion after the War of Unification, in which he conquered all the rebellious city-states unwilling to submit to his rule. This most notably included Bloodstone, a city in southern Albion notoriously home to pirates, prostitutes and other associated riff-raff, which refused the King's offer of peace and instead became the site of two major battles during the war. Even though the Hero was now monarch, his trials had only just begun. The new ruler was tasked with rebuilding and restoring Albion's economy, which had been reduced to nothing in the wake of his conquests, as well as equipping his newly-founded Royal Army with arms and guarding settlements endangered with attack by bandits and wild animals. Perhaps most importantly, the King had to prove himself a shrewd diplomat and politician in order to be able to control an uneasy populace. Age 35-45: Reconstruction and the Bloodstone Uprising The Bloodstone Uprising The first ten years of the Hero's official reign were possibly the most difficult and trying of his entire 45 years. Most of Bloodstone's buildings, including Bloodstone Mansion, had been destroyed completely, and many people were left stranded in the ruined city. Martial rule was instituted there, with the King appointing General Isaac Brewer as Governor of the new Bloodstone Province. Despite this, riots broke out, and these small scale uprisings would eventually lead to a full-scale rebellion in the 8th year of the Hero's rule. Led by an unknown but mighty pirate wielding a hammer later known as the Bloodstone Bludgeon, the villagers slew many Royal soldiers stationed there, including Governor Brewer himself. This heinous act of defiance forced the Hero, now 43, to head to Bloodstone with the Albion Royal Navy via Westcliff and establish a blockade around the city. Once the blockade was in place, the Hero fought his way through the rebels to the ruined Bloodstone Mansion, where he captured the pirate and brought him back to Bowerstone. There, he was tried and convicted of high treason against the Kingdom of Albion, and sentenced to death by decapitation. Reconstruction Despite all the commotion in southern Albion, the King was able to make headway in terms of unifying Albion from the ages of 35 to 45. He used the land to his advantage, garrisoning Old Kingdom ruins as forts, such as in Rookridge and Mourningwood, and commissioned guards to the roads of Albion in an effort to protect travelers from the dangerous wilderness. Also, Albion's economy began to recover, with the nation reopening trade with the nation of Samarkand and beginning to make transitions from an agrarian-based society to a more commercial one. The Hero, using his immense mastery over the Heroic discipline of Will, built the Sanctuary, from which he was able to travel to any location in Albion (and Aurora) , as well as dress, store weapons, and amass and keep track of wealth. Finally, at the age of 38, the Hero married, and his wife was given status as Royal Consort. Age 45-55: Religion, Economy, and Heirs By the age of 45, the Hero of Bowerstone had consolidated his rule as law within Albion's borders. The King now began to focus on more social rather than political matters within the nation. Being a longtime associate of the Temple of Light, the Light was made Albion's official religion when the Hero was 47, although other religions were still permitted. Oakfield expanded beyond its borders once again, this time taking land from nearby Shalefields and adding it to its total land area. Houses and businesses sprang up, as more people flocked to the town to worship the Light. A religious shrine was built in Mourningwood, although it would eventually be overrun by Hollow Men infesting the region and abandoned. At the age of 53, the Hero had bore to him his first son, whom he named Logan. Being the first-born heir, Logan would be the first candidate to rule Albion after the Hero King's passing. The King knighted Walter Beck and gave him the position of General within Albion's Royal Army, Beck having fought beside the Hero in the War of Unification. Towards the end of this decade, when the Hero of Bowerstone was 55 years of age, Professor Ernest Faraday, in close operation with the Crown, founded Faraday Industries, a manufacturing company centered around his clockwork designs. Faraday would help incite Albion's Industrial Revolution. Age 55-65: Great Building Projects Ernest Faraday, although only 31 when he founded his company on Clockwork Island, would prove instrumental during the Hero of Bowerstone's late reign. Using steam-powered machines and tools, Faraday was able to turn Bowerstone Old Town (known as Bowerstone Slums because of the poor condition of the neighborhood) into Bowerstone Industrial, the main manufacturing quarter of Bowerstone. The area quickly turned into the center of industry for all of Albion, with people arriving from all corners of the Kingdom to work in its lucrative factories. Houses were built to accommodate the workers, and soon a pub sprang up as well. Faraday's inventions were also used to expand the Market Road in Bowerstone Market, and soon Bower Lake was incorporated into the Greater Bowerstone Area. Renaming the region Millfields, several mansions commissioned by Albion's elite were constructed on shores of the lake. The King made sure to not infringe upon the campsite of the resident Gypsy tribe, as it was they who raised him after the death of his sister, Rose. Faraday's greatest feat was perhaps the building of the Mistpeak Monorail, a vast cable-car system that connected the eastern region of Mistpeak Valley to Millfields. By the connection of these regions, one could now travel from Brightwall to Bowerstone, a feat only possible before by traversing through underground Old Kingdom ruins and the ever-perilous swamps of Mourningwood. During this time, Albion became immensely wealthy, and thus the population became extremely happy with the rule of the King, as the nation had not seen prosperity of these proportions since the Old Kingdom. At the age of 60, the Hero's wife had second son before passing away the following year. This son would be later known as the Hero of Brightwall, and go down in history as one of the most powerful Heroes, as well as one of the most benevolent and wise rulers, in Albion. When the monarch was 63, Professor Faraday completed another great industrial work, this time the building of Albion's most secure prison on Ravenscar Island. Known as Ravenscar Keep, the prison was Albion's first major correctional facility since Bargate Prison, during the time of the Hero of Oakvale. The King commissioned a large guard force specially trained to defend the Keep, as it would come to house Albion's most dangerous criminals, including political prisoners. The village of Brightwall was also expanded during this time. The Hero had Brightwall Academy, Albion's first major university, built on the terrace overlooking the settlement. A man known as Samuel was appointed by the Hero, now age 64, as the Academy's dean and librarian, and also served as a de facto city leader for Brightwall. As for Brightwall itself, it grew to become the largest city in eastern Albion, being home to every shop with the exception of an apothecary. Brightwall became a hub for intellectuals in Albion, with scholars trekking from all over to study in the Academy's hallowed halls. Underneath the Academy, the Hero also built the Reliquary, a set of trials intended for the King's Heroic heirs, whoever that may be. Finally, the last of the great building projects, which began when the monarch was 56, culminated when the Hero was 65. Castle Fairfax, now known as Bowerstone Castle, was finished with its renovations. The entrances to the tomb of Lady Elvira Grey, once the Mayor of Bowerstone, were destroyed, and the courtyard was cut down vertically and expanded horizontally. The Castle Gardens were added in the back of the Castle, which wound through a maze of hedges until they reached the Royal Catacombs. There, the King's wife was interred, and a false floor was installed as well. If accessed, the floor would open and lead to massive cavern, which would in turn cut directly under Bowerstone Industrial. Finally, the path would lead to an Old Kingdom ruin, on which was a Cullis Gate, that, if used, would take the user directly to the Hero's Sanctuary. However, the Catacombs were rigged to respond only to a Hero, as the monarch had his Guild Seal placed there. Age 65-73: Satisfaction and Death In the final eight years of the Hero's reign, Albion was perhaps the richest, most stable nation in the known world. More land was added to the Greater Bowerstone Area, with Westcliff being annexed, the Crucible and most of the buildings destroyed, and the region being renamed Bowerstone Old Quarter when the monarch was 68. Trade had been opened with Aurora, Samarkand, and the Edgelands, and Albion's Industrial Revolution, thanks to Ernest Faraday, was in full swing. The Royal Army was the most well-trained, well-equipped fighting force Albion had ever seen, and crime rates dropped to record lows. Also, during this time, when the Hero was 71, Prince Logan came of age, and the monarch, given his advanced age, had his regency reduced from complete to limited, sharing reign with his son. In the same year, Reaver, the Hero of Skill and old ally of the King, returned to Albion after a 43-year long expedition to Samarkand with Garth, a Will user and friend of the King as well. The King, looking upon his reign with satisfaction, granted Logan full regency upon his death. When the Hero of Bowerstone was 73 years of age, he died peacefully in his sleep. At the age of 20, Logan was crowned as the second monarch of the Kingdom of Albion, successor to his father. Inherently good like his father, the people expected a long, peaceful reign marked by prosperity and safety during Logan's rule. Legacy In the 45 years of his rule, the Hero of Bowerstone arguably accomplished more than any Archon of the Old Kingdom ever did during their reign, save for William Black, the original Hero. The Hero performed innumerable feats, such as establishing a military, a formal educational system, and transferring Albion from a primarily agricultural society to an industrial superpower. Perhaps most importantly, the Hero was able to effectively unite the small city-states of Albion into one cohesive nation, an act not even the Archons of old could boast. The Hero was possibly considered the greatest monarch until the rule of his second-born son, the Hero of Brightwall.